[Dixielandjazz] Re: "Jazz" Festivals

[Mike Durham]

Forgetting for the moment about basically peripheral issues such as 
band/venue logistics, there is IMHO one important reason for keeping jazz 
festivals in the hands of enthusiasts rather than "paid professionals", and 
that's the music itself. Most of the for-profit, professionally-run "jazz" 
festivals I have knowledge of include a steadily decreasing proportion of 
any jazz at all, let alone OKOM.  Instead, they feature more and more 
so-called 'smooth jazz' and "jazz-related" music like R&B, Soul, Hip-Hop, 
even Rap.
The more this happens, with other music being sold under the banner of jazz, 
the more the whole idea of real jazz is liable to get diluted and submerged 
in a sea of populism. I run a three day festival every year at Whitley Bay 
with 25 bands, it's advertised as a Traditional Jazz Festival, and that's 
what we deliver (from ragtime to swing). It doesn't take 60 people a whole 
year to set up, and being organised by musicians, it's musician-friendly. 
With a few donations from our sponsors, we just about break even. I agree it 
would be good to attract a younger audience, but if I can't find ways of 
doing this without diluting the jazz content of the festival, frankly, I'd 
rather quit - I'm in this primarily to play the music I love and to hear it 
being played by others. Yours in full old curmudgeon mode,

Mike D.


>From: Stephen Barbone <barbonestreet at earthlink.net>
>Reply-To: barbonestreet at earthlink.net
>To: dixielandjazz at ml.islandnet.com, TCASHWIGG at aol.com
>Subject: [Dixielandjazz] Re: "Jazz" Festivals
>Date: Sat, 01 Nov 2003 22:44:21 -0500
>
> > TCASHWIGG at aol.com wrote (polite snip)
> >
> > In a message dated 10/31/03 9:00:41 PM Pacific Standard Time,
> > WILLIAMHORTON at peoplepc.com writes:
> >
> > > I'm certainly sympathetic with the problems of bands and musicians, 
>but it
> > > should be remembered that it takes a big bunch of unpaid people about 
>a year
> > > of preparation to put on even a one-day festival.  And it takes 
>several
> > > thousand paying jazz fans to make one financially feasible.
> >
> > Sorry to disagree with you Bill me boy, but it does not, it take a
> > Professional promoter who knows what the hell he/she is doing and about 
>twenty
> > professional people about 60 days to put on a successful festival.  I 
>play them all
> > over the world and get paid more money for one or two 90 minute shows a 
>day than
> > some of the so called Traditional Jazz festivals pay all eight of their
> > headline bands.
>
>I agree with Tom, basically because I just got back from a one day festival 
>10 minutes
>ago. At the Rollins Convention Center attached to the Dover Downs Hotel & 
>Casino. Small
>festival, to be sure, only 6 or 7 bands, but all on two stages, with no 
>band movement.
>Paid audience was about 1800 people. It was a wine festival also, with 
>wineries there, as
>well as local restaurants letting the audience sample their wares.
>
>Tickets averaged about $12. Plus, Michele's, the hotel gourmet restaurant 
>served about
>100 lunches at $38, and 200 dinners at $75 to attendees.
>
>Headliners were Tito Puente Jr., Barbone Street and Tom Lagana (smooth jazz 
>from Wash
>DC). The hotel's professional staff puts on events (not all jazz festivals) 
>of this
>magnitude about 50 times a year without hassle. They make a profit.
>
>Two weeks ago Barbone Street played the Rehoboth Jazz Festival. 4 days, 50 
>bands, all
>single venue and separate charges at each venue.
>About 15,000 attended. Top ticket price for one show by the biggest star, 
>James Ingram
>was a little over $80. Our show went for $35. They were 90 minute shows. We 
>drew 500, as
>did Ingram. It is produced by paid professionals, and makes a profit.
>
>Next Saturday, Barbone Street is playing a "one night" Jazz Festival in 
>Media Pa. 10
>bands, all night, each in 10 different venues. Within a six block walk on 
>the main street
>of this town of 50,000 or so. Two OKOM bands and 8 other jazz bands. Venues 
>are all
>restaurants, or bars. Advance sales of tickets @ $10 is now over 1000. (you 
>need the
>ticket to gain admission to any of the venues) The bars/restaurants will 
>make a bundle on
>food/drink also. This festival is put on professionally by The Media 
>Business
>Association. One honcho and about 20 paid part timers. They also did a 
>blues festival
>earlier this year, and next year plan 3 music festivals in the town. They 
>are like big
>block parties and they make a profit
>
>We also play Berk's Jazz Festival. A 10 day affair, all bands play in 
>separate venues.
>Most play one or two 90 minute shows. About 140 bands this year. Expect 150 
>in 2004. All
>individually ticketed. The city, Reading, makes a profit., and the 
>merchants make a
>profit.
>
>We also perform at Turks Head Music Festival locally which presents 12 
>bands in on day,
>all in one outdoor venue. It has 2 stages adjacent to each other. While on 
>band plays on
>the left stage, the others sets up on the right stage, and vice versa. They 
>draw 5000
>people and the costs of the festival are minimal. The city makes a pretty 
>good profit as
>many bands are "sponsored" by businesses in town.
>
>The musicians are well paid in all of the above cases and this year Barbone 
>Street will
>have performed in about 15 such "jazz " or "music"  festivals. In front of 
>refreshingly
>young audiences mixed in with those of us in the Medicare set.
>
>To quote an old cliche, There are many ways to skin a cat.
>
>Bottom line. "Festivals" are relatively easily done by professionals. By 
>all means use
>volunteers, but there certainly seems reason to leave the main planning and 
>the oversight
>to the pros.
>
>There is no reason to perpetuate shrinking OKOM festivals other than to 
>keep the "Old
>Boy/Girl" network stumbling along. Time to think outside the box for many 
>of those in the
>USA that are having trouble. If the raison d'etre for OKOM festivals is to 
>keep the old
>folks from having to walk more than a block to see the next band, then 
>we've indeed lost
>our focus. We are not expanding the audience, we are not even preserving 
>the music. We
>are doing our best to kill it by targeting an audience whose average age is 
>dead.
>
>But, like Tom and others, there are a few people who believe in the 
>viability of this
>music, and the profitability of it. We say, what the hell is with you 
>folks? Haven't you
>learned yet that you can't kill this music, no matter how hard you try?
>
>If your favorite festivals are not healthy, think outside the box to make 
>them so. Or
>move over and let the professionals do it for you. THINK YOUNG. "IT'S ABOUT 
>THE MUSIC".
>which is what Rehoboth Jazz Festival used as their theme last month.
>
>Cheers,
>Steve Barbone
>
>
>
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